*Denotes incumbent

By Gregg Chudacoff, Tier II Committee Chairman ~ The Tier II substitute choice application process, Squirt 10U through Midget 16U/18U will begin on July 20,2018. All applications will be submitted online. The Tier II Committee will only have (3) three appeal hearings this year for those denied a substitute choice. The dates for the appeals are August 9, August 29, and September 6, 2018 at 6:30pm at the North Shore Ice Arena. If denied, please email Gregg Chudacoff, AHAI Tier II Chairman, at  [email protected] with your preferred appeal hearing date. The deadline for applying for a substitute choice will be September 15th, 2018.

QUESTION: My oldest boy is now playing Bantam and his team participated in the Chi-Town Shuffle last weekend.  A couple of boys on the team suffered concussions, which happens, but there were checks, cross checks, and hits to the head that weren't called. I realize that's always going to be the case in some form or fashion; however, if the officials don't know what is an illegal hit or aren't confident enough to call such, what will stop the same thing from happening repeatedly? I recognize that the officials are doing their best and I'm not attempting to be critical of them or the players that commit the infraction but possibly more education is needed so that we can start to diminish these incidents.  Last year we had four boys on our team break bones. We need to find a way to minimize these injuries. The game is physical, but there must be a way to minimize concussions and other serious injuries. Does "Ask AHAI" have any thoughts or ideas on my concerns, I'd welcome the feedback. ANSWER>>

The AHAI Foundation Golf Outing is asking the hockey community to reach out to their favorite restaurants for a donation of dinner gift certificates to use in our raffles. We are also looking for donations of tickets to sporting events of any kind. Send gift certificates or tickets (this may also be a pledge for tickets) to Don Allord, Golf Outing Chairman, at 3 Roberts Court, Woodridge, IL 60517. Thank you in advance for your support.

By Jack Weinberg ~ June 1st is the deadline for filing Combined applications for the Fall 2018-2019 season. Applications will need to be filed electronically by the organization's registrar using the AHAI Web tool. The application is being updated and will be active soon. Full information for all contacts at your club including: name, mailing address, email address and phone number must be updated immediately so that they will receive all correspondence and instructions for all High School activities. If you have questions on how to update your contacts, contact the AHAI Registrar at [email protected]. If you have other questions for the High School Committee, email to [email protected].

By Brian Meek ~ Illinois West High School Hockey League will again host a pre-season Goalie clinic for all West goalies at All Seasons Ice Arena.  The clinic will be held for four evenings starting Monday, July 23rd through Thursday, July 26th from 6:40PM - 8:40PM each evening.  As begun last year, the clinic will consist of both on-ice and off-ice sessions each evening.  All goalies from Illinois West are allowed to participate. The clinic is provided by the League at no cost to the participants. As is our practice, many of the coaches are past Illinois West goalies who are now playing in the college ranks. Pat Meek from Good as Gould Goalie School will manage the clinic with many experienced coaches to assist at each station. This will be the 9th year the Goalie clinic has been provided by West. READ MORE>>

Lady Blackhawks is a program for girls ages 11-14 who have experience playing organized hockey and want to continue to grow as a hockey player! The girls will be coached by an all-girls coaching staff with guest appearances from Olympians, USA U18 women's players, and NCAA D1 and D3 women athletes. The girls will have the opportunity to work on their skills in a 3-phase program and benefit from the knowledge of this experienced staff with weekly Q+A sessions on various topics. MORE INFORMATION>>

The Rockford IceHogs push for the Calder Cup with a showdown in the Division Finals Playoffs against the Manitoba Moose. Tickets are now available for Game 4 on Friday, May 11th at 7pm and Saturday, May 12th at 6pm **. There are still limited spots to get up close with the IceHogs for both of these games. For group or individual tickets call 815-847-6386 or  [email protected].

**Saturday, May 12th only to be played if necessary

The 2018 Adult Women's Rec Nationals were April 26-29th in Tampa, Florida. The Really Old Chicago Jets took 2nd Place in the 60+ division and the Illinois Stars took 1st in the 30+ Tier 2 division. Way to go, Ladies!